In a joint statement released on May 26, 2024, BharatPe and PhonePe have announced the amicable settlement of their long-standing legal dispute over the use of the suffix ‘Pe’ in their respective trademarks. This will bring a closure to the on-going judicial proceedings between the two fintech giants. They have also announced to undertake steps to revoke their opposition against each other’s trademark registrations in adherence to the settlement agreement concerning the matters that are still pending before the Bombay and Delhi High Courts.

The report is accessible here.

The Indian ad-watchdog ASCI in its Annual Complaint Report of FY 2023-24 analyzed 8229 advertisements and a whooping number of 3200 advertisements (39%) were marked as misleading in their respective categories. The most violative sector is “Healthcare” (19%) followed by “offshore betting ads” (17%) that are maintained by foreign entities in India and promoted by Indian celebrities. There is a 12.75% increase in the number of complaints over the previous year.

The report is accessible here.

The Government of India has allocated a sum of Rs. 2,000 crores to the IndiaAI Mission for the development of the IndiaAI Innovation Centre to map an AI model. The model would cater to the diverse needs of Indian companies, entrepreneurs, academics and researchers, and produce results in multiple native languages. It would also allow startups to share data to train the AI model without any threat to privacy and copyright.

Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/govt-saying-aye-to-laying-strong-ai-foundation/articleshow/110311864.cms

We are pleased to report that ALG has advised and assisted its client, Eicher GoodEarth India Private Limited (EGIPL) in successfully having its trademark and house-mark EICHER declared as a well-known trademark in India and included in the list of well-known trademarks. The mark has been published in the Trademarks Journal under Rule 124 (5) of the Trade Marks Rules, 2017.

The ‘well-known’ declaration further strengthens EGIPL’s rights in the EICHER mark and is a significant milestone in its protection and enforcement. This accomplishment underscores the rigorous and stringent process involved, including thorough scrutiny of evidence supporting EGIPL’s rights and overcoming objections.

Achieving the ‘well-known trademark’ status is a testament to the exceptional reputation and brand recognition of ‘EICHER’ and ALG is delighted to have been a part of EGIPL’s journey in achieving this much deserved recognition. 

Available at: https://www.algindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Intellectual-Property-India.pdf

On March 15, 2024, Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2024 came into force in India. These Rules make a notable impact the patents practice and procedure in India. Text of the Rules is available here. ALG’s Practice Update summarising these amendments and their implications on the patents practice and procedures in India is available here.